What’s upstairs at Old Mackinac Point?Posted July 27, 2019We get asked it all of the time: what’s upstairs at the lighthouse? Join Curator of History Craig Wilson for a look upstairs at the venerable lighthouse in this quick video. (more…)
Archaeology UpdatePosted July 12, 2019The first half of the archaeology field season has been very productive. The root cellar in the southeast corner of the house has continued to be rich in information. A few more planks from the west wall of the cellar have been exposed. The final piece of the feather-edged creamware plate that was exposed last summer was removed in mid-June. Two large pieces of plain white tin-glazed earthenware have also been recovered. One appears to be from a tightly curved bowl. The other appears to be from a straight-sided vessel partially excavated from the cellar last summer. Other interesting finds from the cellar include a trade silver circle brooch, the fourth one from this house, and a leg bone and hoof from a pig or sheep.Creamware plate reassembledTin-glazed earthenware bowl fragmentStraight-sided white tin-glazed earthenware from sideWhite-tin-glazed sherds from 2018 and 20192019 trade silver brooch (more…)
The Colonial Michilimackinac Soldiers’ BarracksPosted July 5, 2019Join Curator of History Craig Wilson as he provides a tour of a brand new exhibit in the Soldiers’ Barracks at Colonial Michilimackinac. (more…)
A Legal Battle at the LighthousePosted June 21, 2019The brick 1906 fog signal building sits just east of the 1892 keepers’ quarters. The 1890 fog signal originally occupied the space between the two buildings, where benches now line the sidewalk.Today, visitors to Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse enter the site via the Fog Signal Building, constructed in 1906. The machinery originally housed inside powered fog whistles, and later air horns, to guide sailors during periods of poor visibility. The building itself, however, was only constructed after a 13-year legal dispute between the federal government and the Village of Mackinaw City. (more…)
The Wharf at MichilimackinacPosted June 14, 2019The fort’s water gate, as seen from the lake. Although not yet reconstructed, the wharf would have occupied this space in the 1770s.Situated on the Straits of Mackinac, Michilimackinac was ideally located to serve as a major transshipment point and resupply hub for the Great Lakes fur trade. Every summer, dozens of canoes and a few small sailing vessels filled with tons of fur, trade goods, food, and other supplies called at the shoreline community. To facilitate movement between water and land, by at least the mid-1760s Michilimackinac’s residents relied upon a wooden wharf. (more…)
Preparing for the SeasonPosted May 31, 2019The site (between the barrels) buried under several feet of snow.After the spring melt.Ready to excavate.Spring has sprung in the Straits of Mackinac region, and with spring comes the preparation for another archaeological field season. Regular blog readers will remember that at the end of last season we lined the site with heavy plastic sheeting and bales of straw. The long snowy winter was very good for preventing the wall from slumping too much. When we removed the straw and plastic last week, the site was in fairly good condition. (more…)
Friends Preserving and Sharing Mackinac’s HistoryPosted April 12, 2019Fort Holmes, reopened in 2015.Mackinac Associates’ mission is simple and encompassing: Friends Preserving and Sharing Mackinac’s Heritage.Mackinac Associates is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that supports programs at Mackinac State Historic Parks through membership dues and other gifts. Mackinac Associates members have supported needed projects in every area of museum operation, and make possible interpretive programs, publications, exhibits, natural history education, park improvements and more. (more…)
Railroads in Mackinaw CityPosted April 5, 2019An early 1880s ad for the Grand Rapids and Indiana.Although platted in 1857, Mackinaw City remained undeveloped until about 1870. By then a village stood on the shores of the Straits of Mackinac, and steamboats linked the community with cities around the Great Lakes. However, the town remained small and isolated until 1881, when the first train arrived.The Michigan Central Railroad was the first to reach Mackinaw, running north from Detroit through Saginaw. George Stimpson, an early settler and prominent resident, drove the final spike. A year later, the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad also reached the straits, linking Mackinaw City with Traverse City, Grand Rapids, and Fort Wayne, Indiana. On the north shore, meanwhile, the Detroit, Mackinac and Marquette Railroad ran west from St. Ignace across the Upper Peninsula. The railroads brought increased traffic to the straits and Mackinaw City grew quickly, formally incorporating as a village in 1882. (more…)
Historic Food Tasting, Part 3Posted April 1, 2019We’ve had fun throughout the winter sampling historic food recipes, and here now is our third installment. You can try all of these historic recipes throughout the summer at Colonial Michilimackinac.
Winter in the LabPosted March 14, 2019The long winter has given the archaeology staff plenty of time in the lab to process and catalog the artifacts from the over 500 separate contexts excavated at Michilimackinac during the 2018 field season. A context is a single soil type in a tenth of a foot level in a 5’ x 5’ square. (more…)
